'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' Movie Review

With Breaking Dawn Part 2, the Twilight Saga is officially over, and depending on who you are, this may elicit exclamations of "Finally!" or "Nooooooo!" (followed by girlish sobbing and dry heaves). But is it actually any good? Does it matter?

When last we saw the Cullen clan, Bella (Kristen Stewart) had just given birth and avoided death (or embraced it, depending on how you look at it) by becoming a vampire, but otherwise it was an uneventful day. She wastes little time adapting to the vampire lifestyle, hunting forest animals, scaling cliffs and moving really fast for no apparent reason. Once she gets used to the concept of Jacob (Taylor Lautner) creepily "imprinting" on her infant daughter Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy), she and Edward (Robert Pattinson) -- and Jacob...and Edward's entire family -- proceed to raise the rapidly aging half-human, half-vampire child.

When the ruling vampire coven the Volturi learn of Renesmee's existence, however, they rush to confront the Cullens, thinking that they've broken the law against turning children into vampires. Edward and his family quickly gather support from vampire allies around the world (each with his or her own superpower; what is this, an X-Men movie?), hoping to convince the Volturi that the girl was born a vampire, not made into one. But if they can't change the ruthless coven's mind, the Cullens and their posse are prepared for all-out war to protect the ones they love.

By now, you know the drill. You either love or hate the Twilight movies, and if you're a Twi-hard, you'll no doubt adore every moment of Breaking Dawn Part 2. I am not, so I did not. Having sat through the previous four films -- which I didn't hate -- I found my patience wearing thin with the melodramatic dialogue, the saccharine sentimentality ("Nobody ever loved anyone as much as I love you!"), the dubious plot and the hollow performances that have all been hallmarks of the entire series. To top it off, this film goes the extra mile -- downhill -- with gratuitous product placement (Edward drives a Volvo!) and CGI overkill. Seriously, does the baby need a computer-generated head?

To its credit, though, the franchise tends to end each movie with a bang, and Breaking Dawn Part 2 delivers the biggest bang of them all with the final rumble between the Cullens & Co. and the Volturi. As a horror fan, I can say that the coolest thing about these "sparkly" vampires is that they must be decapitated to be killed, so the sight of vamps (and werewolves) ripping (and biting) off heads right and left is by far the most entertaining thing the Twilight Saga has ever offered up. There's a cute twist ending, too, but it does little to dismiss the notion of these films as being "toothless" vampire tales. Unfortunately, the best parts of Breaking Dawn Part 2 come at the tail end of a tiresome 115-minute run time that may very well render you unconscious by the time the throwdown begins.

• Acting: D+ (Only Michael Sheen's foppishly over-the-top performance redeems the seemingly bored cast.)
• Direction: C (Handles the action scenes OK, but the emotion is tepid and the CGI is overdone.)
• Script: D+ (Bloated with hammy dialogue and silly, overblown plot.)
• Gore/Effects: C- (Minimal gore, despite the decapitations; too many green screens and CGI babies.)
• Overall: C- (Do yourself a favor: wait for it to hit home video, rent it and fast-forward to the big fight scene at the end.)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is directed by Bill Condon and is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity. Release date: November 16, 2012.